The goal with the entertainment system in the MX-5e is for it to be a test platform for the system that will be used in the OSSEV® as closely as possible. That said, we are making a few compromises to re-use some of the existing parts and equipment that are already installed in the Eunos.
Someone clearly spent some time and money installing a decent audio system in the MX-5e before we got it. There is a Alpine CDE-123R head unit that supports Bluetooth, USB and is iPod/iPhone compatible too. It also has several aux inputs, which we allow us to test other components.
This is going to be replaced eventually with a dedicated audio amplifier.
The MX-5e also arrived with a Focal PS 165 FX 2-way speaker system fitted, which provided some impressive sounds. This set of speakers costs over £300 new, so we are going to re-use them. Some very thick OFC audio cables have been run from the head unit into the doors and these connect to the cross-overs. They need some proper connnectors though.
It does look like the main door speakers have been changed very recently though, as the 200W speakers now fitted are blue and in as new condition.
The main speakers look like new but we have made up some new leads to connect them to the cross-overs, using OFC cables and crimped and soldered connectors.
There is a cross-over in each door, housed in a plastic case. We took these out to check them over and clean them up a bit. This basically splits the frequencies sent to the main speaker and the tweeter. There are some switches to change the filter roll-off.
The original Focal tweeters are still installed in the doors.
The interior of the car has been changed from tan to black. The speaker grilles have been spray painted gold, in keeping with the planned colour scheme for the MX-5e. These match the gold cones in the main speakers.
Our MX-5e is a 1992 Eunos Roadster 1.6 V-Spec and this means it has seats with speakers in the headrests. Whilst we plan to replace these seats we are going to work with them for now.
As there are no rear speakers in the MX-5, we are going to use these headrest speakers as the rear channel.
Whilst investigating, we noticed that the seats have the wires and connectors for audio but the rear channels are not currently connected at the head unit.
There is a hidden zip on the headrest, that allows access to the speakers. I took the speakers out to check the wiring:
Left channel: blue/white = +ve & blue/black = -ve.
Right channel: blue/yellow = +ve & blue/red = -ve.
The speakers are 90mm x 50mm speakers on 74mm x 39mm mounting holes. Ours are clearly not original as they have been hacked to make them fit.
The primary entertainment interface will be a large (10"+) touch screen that supports both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This will be the source for entertainment and navigation and will stand alone from the rest of the OSSEV® instumentation. We do plan to add steering wheel controls for volume up/down and track forward/back if possible.
The two test screens have been delivered via AliExpress and the quality is really good. The Apple CarPlay works really well and the touchscreen is responsive.
The screen has a metal mounting plate that is fixed by 4 screws. This will be replaced by a 3D printed custom mount. Audio out is via a 3.5mm stereo jack socket and this will be taken to the head unit / amplifer.
Before we installed the new carpets, we ran high-current power cables and RCA cables from the dash to the rear of the car to support an active sub-woofer. We have purchased a Pioneer TS-WX400DA active sub-woofer. Initially this will sit on the rear parcel shelf but, once the fuel tank has been removed it will sit underneath the parcel shelf.
This unit measures 300 mm (W) × 200 mm (D) × 100 mm (H) and provides 100W nominal / 250W peak power.